Seeing The Light

The location of thej Light cinema, New Brighton overlooks the river Mersey and Liverpool. The light cinema celebrated 10 years in 2021. I remember writing to the then MP, Frank Field, just after my sight loss began over 9 years ago, regarding the lack of audio description films in local Wirral cinemas. As we will see below, this particular cinema took my comments on board. Previously they advertised themselves as not being audio description equipped. Now they are. The website is a bit tricky to navigate when looking for times/days in advance and in an accessible format. The cinema itself is in the corner of a complex of restaurants, supermarket and shops. The automatic door opens to a level space. There's a restaurant area near the window with tables that were good for wheelchair users! No poles to bash into, just slide under the long table! The table was a good height for my wheelchair control panel. An accessibility feature I thought was great, was, when your food order was ready to collect, a handheld alarm that staff give you, bleeps, flashes and vibrates. This is fantastic for blind/deaf people. The decor is yellow and grey, so better for visually impaired orientation, than other cinemas, which tend to be dark. The foyer is quite a compact size, fitting a restaurant station, eating area, ticket purchasing, toilets and the cinema. A bright yellow corridor leads to the toilets. Automatic lighting highlights the disabled toilet. Although not an adult changing places, it does have a baby changing shelf on the right wall. The lilac/grey walls and yellow door make the white bars, toilet and sink, as well as the black toilet roll holder easier to see. The downside being it had no turning room. We were in screen 2. It was a bit twisty to get to, around a narrow corridor, but once through the doors, there's a very slight ramp that leads to the seats. A few of the ordinary seats have been taken out to allow wheelchair users to reverse in. The space is very close to the screen. The member of staff had given us 2 headphone sets. At about a minute in, he thoughtfully came to see if they worked. I put them on, expecting the silence I've come to know so well at the other Wirral cinemas, when a man's voice spoke in my ears (via the headphones, I mean, there wasn't a man whispering sweet nothings to me). I was absolutely amazed! id forgotten how good audio description is, how the spoken word adds details, your eyes might otherwise miss (my dad said that when we watched a DVD), for visually impaired, audio description provides you a detailed visual commentary that not only helps you picture what is happening on screen, but helps you keep up with the plot. However, when I went again, a few days later, the audio description didn't work. I was so disappointed after having such a good experience earlier that week. When enquiring why the audio description worked for one and not the other, we were told that as it was an old film (from the early noughties), the production company would have had to chip it down to add the audio description, and this takes time. He also said it depends on which version (audio description/subtitles or not) the production company send out to the cinemas, as to whether it'll be in an accessible film, or you, as a paying blind/deaf customer will have to guess what is happening. As the inaccessible film is one I remember from when I had full sight, I remembered it and stayed. Because we stayed, despite the film being inaccessible, we were not refunded. As the Light Cinema New Brighton is so disabled friendly, with the decor, autism friendly shows, tables that had good wheel chair access, perhaps they could be the first Wirral cinema to only buy in accessible films! My Message to film producers: the equality act 2010 dictates 'reasonable adjustments' must be made, in not complying by not making your film accessible to your blind/deaf viewers, you are discriminating against us. This is what I hear when in the silence of an inaccessible film, 'we film people don't care about you, you, being disabled, are a lesser human being than non-disabled.' No, I should not be made to feel like a burden just because I am blind. We disabled folk deserve to be treated like humans. We think. We feel. We have rights too. If it’s the costing that makes you favour exclusion, look at it this way: access = profits. inaccessible= bad press = loss.